Untamed Bali
Discover Bali’s west coast – uncrowded waves, lush rice paddies, local surf culture and authentic, off-the-beaten-path escapes.
This Balinese sunrise is hours old when I hit the sand, pausing on the palm-fringed edge of the sea to watch the rolling waves. Stretched before me, a broad wedge of grey sand tempers the crashing swell and a handful of riders shoot through barrels and peel off to do it all again.
Down the beach in the softer waves, some new-to- surfing girlfriends are practising their moves, riding gentle tumblers to shore on their bellies and knees. I kick off my thongs and take the plunge, ducking and diving and soaking up this unhurried scene – the warmth of the water, the crumbling cliffs that line the beach and an utterly old-school surfer vibe I never knew still existed in Bali.
Denpasar’s “hello mister” hustle puts a lot of travellers off Bali and sends them in search of wilder, more remote slices of Indonesian island life. So, while Kuta and I still don’t see eye to eye, a mere two-hour drive away, I find myself utterly wooed by Bali’s rugged west coast wilderness.
Love it or hate it, there’s nothing beige about Bali, and the best of it –the wild beaches, uncrowded waves, authentic cuisine and vibrant village culture – begins at Balian Beach. We’ve come to Bali – my family and I – in search of all the things that most travellers want from Indonesia, but to incongruously find myself enjoying them in the absence of a crowd.
We are collectively hoping for some chilled, beginner waves to surf, a comfortable villa in a laidback village and the chance to eat, stretch and connect with Balinese life. I scour online booking sites for some place beyond the Denpasar mayhem and, two hours later, tumble out of a Grab car in front of a cluster of villas that stud glistening rice paddies above Balian Beach.
The scene is so surreal that I half expect Julia Roberts to ride past on her bicycle, but instead it’s the local rice planters who stop to welcome us with waves and beguiling toothy smiles. From the terrace of our air-conditioned villa, it takes just five steps to reach the pool, which we happily have all to ourselves.
An old coconut grove shades our private nirvana. and the lovely Lena arrives each morning to cook our breakfast to order – fresh tropical fruit platters and strong Balinese coffee, followed by omelettes, pancakes or spicy Indonesian fried noodles. It’s included in our modest room rate and sates appetites until late in the day when we return from the beach ravenous to sip icy ale beers and shakes and dangle our feet in the pool until dinnertime.
Bali’s backwater
There’s an untamed aura about Balian Beach. It’s sea- ravaged volcanic crags and tumbled pebble-strewn beach endure a daily pummelling from the Indian Ocean swells that all-knowing surfers arrive daily to ride. It’s an untrammelled slice of heaven known mostly to these wave riders, and its distinct lack of nightlife and distance from downtown Kuta evidently keeps visitor numbers in check.
There is a generous choice of tourist villas in the surrounding village of Lalanglinggah, but traditional Balinese compounds vastly outnumber guesthouses. These rectangular walled compounds – unique to Bali – cluster together three or four generations of family members around the all-important family temple. In Balian, local people go about their business with a smile and a wave, and there’s none of the street-side badgering that tires travellers elsewhere in Bali’s west coast.
A single road leads through Balian to the beach where travellers commune by day to catch the sea breeze and surf. A pair of places rent surfboards and arrange lessons, there’s a solitary (and highly recommended) yoga shala and just enough al fresco cafes to sit, sip and dine.
The beach at Balian is long enough for a proper leg stretch and extends across the river mouth where bull sharks famously gather after the big torrential downpours that sideline surfers.
When we arrive at Balian, the strong, southeasterly trade winds are already wreaking havoc, chopping up the swell as the high tide recedes. Early mornings are the best time to grab a board and hit the water, and surfers credit Bali’s cool mountain air blowing offshore over Balian with carving out its fun-riding clean waves.
This early morning convection breeze blows reliably from April to October, until the trade winds kick in and end sessions by noon. A sacred river joins forces, magnifying even the smallest of swell and ensuring that Balian’s mellow and non-competitive three breaks stay consistent year-round.
The peak breaks slowly left and barrels fast to the right, while across the river, Ketuts provides an intense, high-performance, right-breaking ride. The far west throws novice surfers a cruisy ride, proving there’s something for all skill levels on this one beautiful beach.
Inner peace
If Balian had a word, it would surely be “authentic”. It’s laidback and unhurried in a way that Kuta hasn’t been for decades, it’s beach breaks are uncrowded, and its jungle, rural backdrop is breathtaking and beautiful. The scenic rice paddies that rise towards the jungle flanks of Batukaru Mountain are some of the loveliest in Bali’s west coast, if only for the lack of other onlookers sharing your views.
Board riders might have discovered it first, but non-surfers are hot on their heels, drawn to Balian for all that it offers ashore too. We connect with Balinese yoga instructor Nicky Sudianta at his open-air Balian Spirit Yoga shala, located high above the beach.
After a long day by the sea, I’m keen to unwind, but Nicky’s afternoon hatha flow sessions aren’t the kind that keep you lying down for long. Our salutations are slow but rigorous, moving with intention and purpose, and despite Nicky’s calm and patient vibe, this is practice all the same.
I’m definitely in holiday mode but my too-tight hips need some work, so while I’m grateful for the chance to loosen up, I’m relieved when Nicky finally pulls out the singing bowls and orders us all to relax on our mats.
There are two daily sessions at Nicky’s shala – morning vinyasa and afternoon hatha flow – and tackling both could turn a Balian holiday into your own personalised yoga retreat, bolstering mind, body and soul with long walks into the rice paddies and fresh Balinese cuisine.
With a rental scooter and an ability to tear yourself away from Balian’s beachfront, you could discover nearby Luhur Srijong Temple or ride an hour south to the iconic Tanah Lot Temple, accessible only when the tide retreats. After deciding that west is best, we pack our bags and jump aboard a local bus headed further up the coast.
Point break
Yeh Sumbul’s tricoloured coastline appears utterly endless: a grey-sand beach awash with a seething blue sea and a verdant swathe of old rice paddies turned grazing grasslands. Studding the road that parallels the sea, we spy the odd villa or resort, too few to call this a holiday haven, and beachside development that’s barely there at best.
The 20km-long “au-natural” beachfront is refreshingly wild, but a shortage of beds means dropping a few stars off our hotel choice. We book Yeh Sumbul’s last room at a surf camp of sorts, and push beds together to accommodate us all. These are rough, budget-priced digs for a family of three – windowless and hot with a peculiar smell that incense can’t hope to remove – so we hastily drop our bags and start exploring.
We wade south across the river at low tide to watch the brave take on Medewi’s iconic, point break – at 300m, this is Bali’s longest left-hand ride. We sample menus from all three of Yeh Sumbul’s simple beachfront cafes, ordering spicy gado gado smothered with rich peanut sauce, fresh coconuts and icy pineapple shakes.
Our hopes for novice-sized surf are unexpectedly dashed by conditions that build the swell into monstrous, pounding waves. Dangerous currents sweep swimmers far down the beach, so we take our restless bodies on long meandering walks instead.
After two nights in shared beds, I finally tap out, stuffing backpacks at dawn and stopping for a soul- restoring round of coffee and cream-filled bomboloni before jumping aboard a Kuta-bound bus. We stop one beach short at over-touristed Legian Beach and unexpectedly end the trip on a high.
Surfing at sunrise, the waves are Goldilocks-right – measured and consistent all day long. We rent $10-a-day boards without any hassle, share a leisurely beachfront lunch with friends and, at day’s end, retreat to soothe our sun-kissed cheeks in a blissfully bug- and mould-free, air-conditioned room.
A hot shower and icy beers follow, and when we give Legian’s busy backstreets a chance, authentic warungs ply us with the tastiest of vegan meals for pocket change. That we manage to enjoy all this after wild times on Bali’s western shores, brings balance to our unexpected watery adventure. Bali is much more than the sum of its hotspots, and I fly out of Denpasar with a much-shifted mindset, vowing to return to Bali’s untarnished west coast.
Escape routes
Go
Balian is located on Bali’s west coast, a two-hour taxi ride north of Denpasar Airport and Kuta Beach. Drive another hour west to reach Yeh Sumbul. Qantas, Virgin, Air Asia and Jetstar link all capital and some regional cities to Denpasar.
Visit
Bali’s best weather comes in the dry season. Expect clear skies and sunshine from around April to October, with peak- season crowds from June to July.
Stay
Close to Balian Beach, villas at Pondok Hari Baik are set among rice paddies, a 2.5km walk or scooter ride from the coast. Villas suit two, three or four people, and there’s a pool, cafe and in-house massages (from $47/double, booking. com). For beachside stays at Balian, book at Pondok Pitaya Balian Hotel (from $95/ double). In Yeh Sumbul, book ahead at West Break Bali Medewi (from $53/couple, breakfast included).
Eat
Rama Balian Surf and Coffee serves kombucha, coffee and breakfasts. Warung Makan OCA creates possibly the best tempeh burgers in Bali. Balian Beach Cafe offers unbeatable sea views, classic Indonesian food and icy fruit shakes and beer. In Yeh Sumbul, Nal’s Kitchen serves good food and beer, Bombolonis Bali serves the best coffee and Holy Tree offers smoothie bowls and vegan feasts, plus surfboard rental.
Do
See Ronny at Balian Surf School for lessons and rentals, and join daily yoga classes just down the road at Nicky’s Balian Spirit Yoga (8.30am and 4pm, balianspirityoga.com).
